


Compatible Incompatibility

by HoundstoothStiletto



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Allergies, Established Relationship, F/M, Mass Effect 3, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27675259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoundstoothStiletto/pseuds/HoundstoothStiletto
Summary: In which Samantha does her part to win the war against the Reapers, Garrus tries to solve a problem, Eve reveals all the good gossip goes through the med bay, and Shepard accepts a hug.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Compatible Incompatibility

Samantha Traynor expected this message from Commander Shepard to be about the meeting with the Dalatrass. 

The security around the comms for the meeting were amazing. The only negative was that the STG techs probably wouldn't send her their notes. They said they would, but who ever actually sends notes when you say you will? Besides herself, of course.

However, Shepard's message wasn't about the meeting or comm security. Not directly anyway. 

_Traynor, I'll be off all comms while I talk to the Dalatrass.This may take a while. Make sure advisor Vakarian sees the message I sent him. It's urgent. - Cmdr Shepard_

She checked. Advisor Vakarian received the message at 1400. 

_It's a matter of life and death. - Cmdr S_

Shepard somehow continued to follow up, despite being "off" comms. The how didn't matter, but the why did. It must be important. Traynor confirmed the message was read. She could go further. Get inside. See how long he took to read it. 

But no. She wouldn't do that even if she wasn't scared of him. One has to stand by their morals. 

_Make sure Garrus got the info I sent him. - Cmdr S._

Time to contact him verbally. Joker assured her there was no reason to be skittish around Garrus Vakarian. How he figured that out when he never faced her or moved...actually wasn't hard to figure out. 

("Relax, Garrus is the nicest guy. Unless he decides you need to be die. Or you know. If he's got that stick up his ass. He can be a jerk," she heard Joker's voice in her head.)

Not helpful. Stupid Joker. Just do it, she told herself. 

"Advisor Vakarian, Commander Shepard wanted me to confirm you received a message from her. An important message, I believe."

He chuckled and said to call him Garrus. And nothing else. That was probably a yes. 

_Confirm my message was received. Patch me to him if necessary. -Cmdr. S._

Did he confirm? No, not technically. Should she send a confirmation to Commander Shepard based on a probably? At least that was an easy answer. 

There was no reason to be afraid of him. And patching him in would be a diplomatic nightmare. The commander wasn't supposed to be on any comms. STG would find out.

Anyway, he hung up on her but there was no reason to be scared of contacting him again. Garrus Vakarian was nice. 

And large, intimidating, and the subject of terrifying rumors.

("Did Garrus still talk about organ harvesting and blowing up hostages?" Engineer Adams asked once. 

"Nah, he changed a lot. That was the old Garrus. Now he's violent and murderous," Joker answered.)

But what if there was another bomb? Uplifting another race to fight? Another genocide virus? Would the war be lost just because Samantha Traynor had anxiety? 

No.

"Advi - Garrus, Commander Shepard is still asking for confirmation about the message she sent you. Is, um, do you-"

Garrus interrupted. He sounded a bit unhappy. "Traynor. Is she having you...? You know what. Yes. Tell her yes and tell her to follow up with me."

Samantha paused. "Of course, Ad- Garrus."

Of course Shepard was having her do the follow ups. What did he think? That it was for her own for fun? And didn't he know that Commander Shepard was in a very important meeting? She couldn't just open up line. Going through Samantha was the most discrete way to handle whatever important things she sent.

 _Cmdr., Confirmed_ . _-st_

That wasn't so bad.

* * *

Garrus thought it was incredibly inappropriate that Shepard involved Traynor. And if she were anyone else, this kind of distraction would have been a huge risk to galactic safety. He only brought up the first concern because she was not anyone else. 

"It was crucial you get the data, and I needed a comm specialist to make sure you got it." 

"Data? Crucial?" Garrus repeated. The message was absolutely neither.

"If you didn't see that information, Garrus. We. Could. Have. Died." Her voice was slow and low, her arms crossed tight. He ignored the alarm; this usually meant danger, but he was learning that isn't what it was. 

Garrus just needed to *ahem* recalibrate himself. Shepard was on a different level. For someone who only saw grays, she was somehow adamant her perspective the correct one.

"I think I understand, but…"

"If you did not see the message, you might have kissed me," she said a bit less agitated, her arms loosening. 

He nodded. That was true. 

"And if you did that. We. Could. Have. Died."

Garrus exhaled as calmly as he could. 

He pulled up the report she sent and showed it to her. Just in case they were somehow talking about different things. They weren't. 

_Batarian - Turian tryst turns deadly when levo dextro incompatibility fatal._

"Shepard. This isn't going to happen to us. It's impossible. We're not allergic to each other. We've especially not _this_ allergic to each other," he was relieved. Very very relieved. This is why she jerked away from him. 

Impossible wasn't inaccurate. There was already a very low chance of any issues. Additionally, Shepard was full of marine enhancements and cybernetics that would prevent an allergic reaction. Garrus had his allergies, immunities, and sensitivities completely up to code to work at C-Sec. They hadn't been allergic to each other as recently as the night before.

"It's not impossible," she quickly replied. Which was accurate. The evidence lay before them. It was not only possible, it happened.

Garrus might have said it's practically impossible. It wouldn't have been written about if it wasn't so rare. And even then, the type of people who have fatal protein allergies probably have a cocktail of other illnesses. He could add that the deceased met in hospice and set their affairs in order before sneaking off to die having a good time. It was all sensationalism trying to scare people because Reapers harvesting all civilization wasn't enough.

Garrus signed. There was no reason to say these things.

She knew.

"What was your meeting about?" He changed the subject. Not to evade the issue, but to get more info about what else was going on. Context. 

Shepard was silent for a long time. "Genocide. More genocide."

The Krogan then. Maybe Rachni. Both. 

She was exhausted. Like worrying about allergies was the only thing that kept her moving. 

"I'll see if Mordin is available. Get us retested and make sure everything is still okay."

Shepard nodded dully. 

* * *

Eve, the krogan woman, made Garrus feel like he was intruding. She was quiet and watching him from the corner. It felt like having a sniper rifle aimed at you. The pressure of being watched on your back. 

Which was more pleasant than listening to Mordin.

"Unlikely to be fatal yes, not impossible, allergic reaction actually likely but usually not noticeable..."

Nothing like listening to the scenarios of how a fatal allergic reaction would happen. Or how stress raises the odds. He wouldn't tell Shepard they probably did have allergic reactions to each other. At least once or twice anyway. 

"I'll have results tomorrow," Mordin waved Garrus out of med bay. Garrus didn't move. He needed more than medical horror stories to go back with. 

"Doctor," Eve said, "I think the advisor needs some assurance about having sex with the Commander."

Garrus sputtered. "Well, I'm. The commander and I. We work together. And -"

"Relax. Spend as much time in this med bay as I have and you'll figure out everyone who has a partner."

Knowing who is sleeping with who never sounded so wise. Wait? Who else?

Mordin somehow was able to fit a "of course, take this" into his monolog about the genophage, while shoving some pills at Garrus on his way to excitedly scan Eve.

Just a handful of small loose pills. Garrus looked for something to put them in. "We'll just take these then…"

He was ignored. Mordin was doing something else. He still felt the pressure of Eve's gaze long after he left. 

* * *

Shepard accepted the pills. "I know you think it's stupid, but I really don't need anything else to go wrong."

Oh.

"No, Shepard, I don't think it's stupid," Garrus responded. He thought her stress was about something else, but maybe it really was allergies. Or something else. It shouldn't matter. 

"I think you have enough to worry about and I don't want you to ever worry about us. Or me." 

"I will though," she said a bit more lively. Something heating up in her eyes. 

He should have known this was his perspective from the start. Things would have gone better he figured out his own motivation before trying to understand Shepard's. 

"Can I touch you?" They were overdue. This is what he should have said in the first place.

She nodded. This was safe.


End file.
